LETTER CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENT FOR POSSIBLE ACQUISITION

Posted
August 28, 2015 by Anthony Palazzo

Re: Letter Confidentiality Agreement for Possible Acquisition

Ladies and Gentlemen:

In connection with your evaluation of a possible acquisition of certain assets of ______________ and its subsidiaries (collectively, with its subsidiaries and affiliates, the “Company”) (a “Possible Transaction”), the Company is prepared to make available to you and your Representatives (as hereinafter defined) certain information concerning the business, financial condition, operations, assets and liabilities of the Company. As a condition to such information being furnished to you and your Representatives, you agree that you will, and will cause your Representatives to, treat the Evaluation Material (as hereinafter defined) in accordance with the provisions of this letter agreement and take or abstain from taking certain other actions as set forth herein. The term “Representatives” shall include the members, directors, officers, employees, agents, partners and advisors of a party and those of its subsidiaries and/or divisions (including, without limitation, attorneys, accountants, consultants, bankers, financial advisors and prospective sources of financing for a Possible Transaction). Further, you agree to not disclose any Evaluation Material to any affiliate or portfolio company without the prior written consent of the Company. Notwithstanding any other provision hereof, the Company reserves the right not to make available hereunder any information, the provision of which is determined by it, in its sole discretion, to be inadvisable or inappropriate.

1. Evaluation Material. The term “Evaluation Material” shall mean all Confidential or Propriety Information, Trade Secrets, whether marked as such or not which is held in confidence and would reasonably be determined as Confidential or Proprietary Information or Trade Secrets and any information relating, directly or indirectly, to the Company or the business, its Copyright, Trademarks, products, open or closed or active business markets, financial condition or otherwise conditions, whether good or poor, operations, assets, liabilities, results of operations, customers, employees or independent contractors, cash flows or prospects of the Company (whether prepared by the Company, its advisors or otherwise) which is delivered, disclosed or furnished by or on behalf of the Company to you or to your Representatives, before, on or after the date hereof, regardless of the manner in which it is delivered, disclosed or furnished, or which you or your Representatives otherwise learn or obtain, through observation or through analysis of such information, data or knowledge, and shall also be deemed to include all notes, analyses, compilations, studies, forecasts, interpretations or other documents prepared by you or your Representatives that contain, reflect or are based upon, in whole or in part, the information delivered, disclosed or furnished to you or your Representatives pursuant hereto. Notwithstanding any other provision hereof, the term Evaluation Material shall not include information which you can conclusively establish (i) is or becomes generally available to the public other than as a result of a disclosure by you or your Representatives, (ii) was within your possession prior to it being furnished to you by or on behalf of the Company pursuant hereto, provided that the source of such information was not bound by a confidentiality agreement with, or other contractual, legal or fiduciary obligation of confidentiality to, the Company or any other party with respect to such information or (iii) becomes available to you on a non-confidential basis from a source other than the Company or any of its Representatives, provided that such source is not bound by a confidentiality agreement with, or other contractual, legal or fiduciary obligation of confidentiality to, the Company or any other party with respect to such information. 2. Use and Disclosure of Evaluation Material. You recognize and acknowledge the competitive value and confidential nature of the Evaluation Material and the damage that could result to the Company if any information contained therein is disclosed to a third party. You hereby agree that you and your Representatives shall use the Evaluation Material solely for the purpose of actively and directly evaluating a Possible Transaction and for no other purpose, that the Evaluation Material will not be used in any way detrimental to the Company, that the Evaluation Material will be kept confidential and that you and your Representatives will not disclose any of the Evaluation Material in any manner whatsoever; provided, however, that (i) you may make any disclosure of the Evaluation Material to which the Company gives its prior written consent and (ii) any of the Evaluation Material may be disclosed to your Representatives who need to know such information for the purpose of evaluating a Possible Transaction, who are provided with a copy of this letter agreement and who agree to be bound by the terms hereof. In any event, you agree to undertake reasonable precautions to safeguard and protect the confidentiality of the Evaluation Material, to accept responsibility for any breach of this letter agreement by you or any of your Representatives, and, at your sole expense, to take all reasonable measures (including, but not limited to, court proceedings) to restrain yourself and your Representatives from prohibited or unauthorized disclosure or uses of the Evaluation Material. In addition, you agree that, without the prior written consent of the Company, you and your Representatives will not disclose to any other person the fact that you or your Representatives have received Evaluation Material or that Evaluation Material has been made available to you or your Representatives, that investigations, discussions or negotiations are taking place concerning a Possible Transaction or any of the terms, conditions or other facts with respect to any Possible Transaction, including the status thereof and the identity of the parties thereto (collectively, the “Discussion Information”). The term “person” as used in this letter agreement shall be broadly interpreted to include the media and any corporation, partnership, group, individual or other entity. In the event that you or any of your Representatives are requested or required (by oral questions, interrogatories, requests for information or documents in legal proceedings, subpoena, civil investigative demand or other similar process) to disclose any of the Evaluation Material or Discussion Information, you shall provide the Company with prompt written notice of any such request or requirement so that the Company may in its sole discretion seek a protective order or other appropriate remedy and/or waive compliance with the provisions of this letter agreement. If, in the absence of a protective order or other remedy or the receipt of a waiver by the Company, you or any of your Representatives are nonetheless, in the opinion of legal counsel, legally compelled to disclose Evaluation Material or Discussion Information to any tribunal or else stand liable for contempt or suffer other censure or penalty, you or your Representatives may, without liability hereunder, disclose to such tribunal only that portion of the Evaluation Material or Discussion Information which such counsel advises you is legally required to be disclosed or else stand liable for contempt or suffer other censure or penalty, provided that you use your reasonable best efforts to preserve the confidentiality of the Evaluation Material and the Discussion Information, including, without limitation, by cooperating fully with the Company to obtain an appropriate protective order or other reliable assurance that confidential treatment will be accorded the Evaluation Material and the Discussion Information by such tribunal; and provided further that you shall promptly notify the Company of (i) your determination to make such disclosure and (ii) the nature, scope and contents of such disclosure. 3. Return and Destruction of Evaluation Material. In the event that you decide not to proceed with a Possible Transaction, you will promptly inform the Company of that decision. In that case, or at any time upon the request of the Company and for any reason, you will as directed by the Company promptly deliver, at your expense, to the Company all Evaluation Material (and any copies thereof) furnished to you or your Representatives by or on behalf of the Company pursuant hereto. In the event of such a decision or request, all other Evaluation Material prepared by you or on your behalf shall be returned and no copy thereof shall be retained, and, upon the Company’s request, you shall provide the Company with prompt written confirmation of your compliance with this paragraph. Notwithstanding the return or destruction of the Evaluation Material, you and your Representatives shall continue to be bound by your obligations of confidentiality and other obligations and agreements hereunder. 4. No Representations or Warranties. You understand, acknowledge and agree that neither the Company nor any of its Representatives or affiliates makes any representation or warranty, express or implied, as to the accuracy or completeness of the Evaluation Material. You agree that neither the Company nor any of its Representatives or affiliates shall have any liability to you or to any of your Representatives relating to or resulting from the use of the Evaluation Material or any errors therein or omissions therefrom. Only those representations or warranties which are made in a final definitive agreement regarding any transactions contemplated hereby, when, as and if executed and delivered, and subject to such limitations and restrictions as may be specified therein, will have any legal effect. 5. No Solicitation. In consideration of the Evaluation Material being furnished to you, you hereby agree that, for a period of _______ (___) years from the date hereof, neither you nor any of your affiliates or Representatives (nor any person acting on behalf of or in concert with you or any of your affiliates or Representatives) will, without the prior written consent of the Company, directly or indirectly, solicit to employ or actually employ any of the officers or employees of the Company. Additionally, you hereby agree that, for a period of _______ (___) years from the date hereof, you and your affiliates and Representatives will not (i) solicit any of the officers or employees of the Company to terminate their employment with the Company, or (ii) take any other action that is reasonable likely to cause injury to the relationship between the Company, and its employees, customers, suppliers or other business associates. Until the earliest of (i) the execution by you of a definitive agreement regarding a Possible Transaction with the Company or (ii) three years from the date of this letter agreement, you agree not to initiate or maintain, directly or indirectly through any of your Representatives or otherwise, any contact (except for those contacts made in the ordinary course of business) with any officer, director, employee or client of the Company regarding the Company’s business, operations, prospects or finances, except with the prior written consent of the Company. 6. No Agreement. You understand and agree that no contract or agreement providing for any Possible Transaction shall be deemed to exist between you and the Company unless and until a final definitive agreement has been executed and delivered (and then only to the extent specifically set forth therein), and you hereby waive, in advance, any claims (including, without limitation, breach of contract) in connection with any Possible Transaction unless and until you and the Company shall have entered into a final definitive agreement. You also agree that unless and until a final definitive agreement regarding a Possible Transaction has been executed and delivered, neither the Company nor you will be under any legal obligation of any kind whatsoever with respect to such a Possible Transaction by virtue of this letter agreement except for the matters specifically agreed to herein. You further acknowledge and agree that the Company reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to reject any and all proposals made by you or any of your Representatives with regard to a Possible Transaction, to determine not to engage in discussions or negotiations and to terminate discussions and negotiations with you at any time, and to conduct, directly or through any of its Representatives, any process for any transaction involving the Company, if and as they in their sole discretion shall determine (including, without limitation, negotiating with any other interested parties and entering into a definitive agreement without prior notice to you or any other person). 7. No Waiver of Rights. It is understood and agreed that no failure or delay by the Company in exercising any right, power or privilege hereunder shall operate as a waiver thereof, nor shall any single or partial exercise thereof preclude any other or further exercise thereof or the exercise of any other right, power or privilege hereunder. 8. Remedies. It is understood and agreed that money damages would not be a sufficient remedy for any breach of this letter agreement by you or any of your Representatives and that the Company shall be entitled to equitable relief, including, without limitation, injunction and specific performance, as a remedy for any such breach. Such remedies shall not be deemed to be the exclusive remedies for a breach by you of this letter agreement but shall be in addition to all other remedies available at law or in equity to the Company. You further agree not to raise as a defense or objection to the request or granting of such relief that any breach of this letter agreement is or would be compensable by an award of money damages, and you agree to waive any requirements for the securing or posting of any bond in connection with such remedy. In the event of litigation relating to this letter agreement, if a court of competent jurisdiction determines (in a judgment not subject to further appeal or for which the time for appeal has expired), that you or any of your Representatives have breached this letter agreement, then you shall be liable and pay to the Company the reasonable legal fees incurred by them in connection with such litigation, including any appeal therefrom. 9. Governing Law. This letter agreement is for the benefit of the Company and its Representatives, and shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of __________ applicable to agreements made and to be performed entirely within the State of __________, without regard to the conflict of law provisions thereof. You hereby irrevocably and unconditionally consent to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of the State of and of the United States of America located in the State of __________ for any actions, suits or proceedings arising out of or relating to this letter agreement and the transactions contemplated hereby (and you agree not to commence any action, suit or proceeding relating thereto except in such courts, and further agree that service of any process, summons, notice or document by U.S. registered mail to your address set forth above shall be effective service of process for any action, suit or proceeding brought against you in any such court). You hereby irrevocably and unconditionally waive any objection which you may now or hereafter have to the laying of venue of any action, suit or proceeding arising out of this letter agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby in the courts of the State of __________ or the United States of America located in the State of __________, and hereby further irrevocably and unconditionally waive and agree not to plead or claim in any such court that any such action, suit or proceeding brought in any such court has been brought in an inconvenient forum. 10. Authority to Enter Into Agreement. You hereby represent and warrant to the Company that this letter agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by one of your officers or representatives and is enforceable in accordance with its terms against you. 11. Entire Agreement. This letter agreement contains the entire agreement of the parties hereto regarding its subject matter and supersedes all prior agreements, understandings, arrangements and discussions between the parties hereto regarding such subject matter. 12. No Modification. No provision in this letter agreement can be waived, modified or amended except by written consent of you and the Company, which consent shall specifically refer to the provision to be waived, modified or amended and shall explicitly make such waiver, modification or amendment. 13. Counterparts. This letter agreement may be signed by facsimile and in one or more counterparts, each of which shall be deemed an original but all of which shall be deemed to constitute a single instrument. 14. Severability. If any provision of this letter agreement is found to violate any statute, regulation, rule, order or decree of any governmental authority, court, agency or exchange, such invalidity shall not be deemed to affect any other provision hereof or the validity of the remainder of this letter agreement, and such invalid provision shall be deemed deleted herefrom to the minimum extent necessary to cure such violation. 15. Inquiries. Under no circumstances should the Company or any third party with whom the Company has a business or other relationship (including without limitation any director, officer, employee, customer, supplier, stockholder or creditor of the Company) be contacted directly. You understand and agree that all inquiries for information about the Company and communications with the Company shall be made through _________________________ and its representatives. 16. Successors. This letter agreement shall inure to the benefit of, and be enforceable by, the Company and its successors and assigns. 17. Third Party Beneficiaries. You agree and acknowledge that this letter agreement is being entered into on behalf of the Company and that it shall be a third party beneficiary hereof, having all rights to enforce this letter agreement. You further agree that except for the Company, nothing herein expressed or implied is intended to confer upon or give any rights or remedies to any other person under or by reason of this letter agreement. 18. No License. All Evaluation Material shall at all times remain the legal property of the Company. Nothing herein shall be deemed to grant or otherwise transfer or convey a license, whether directly or by implication, estoppel or otherwise, to any Evaluation Material disclosed pursuant to this letter agreement. Please confirm your agreement with the foregoing by having a duly authorized officer of your organization sign and return one copy of this letter to the undersigned, whereupon this letter agreement shall become a binding agreement among the parties hereto. Very truly yours,